Surprising as the number of Kenyans smoking Shisha is growing tremendously

Shisha is a single or multi stemmed instrument for vaporizing and smoking flavored tobacco. It originated from the North Western provinces of India in the States of Rajasthan and Gujarat.



Shisha pipes use tobacco sweetened with fruits like strawberry, cherry, watermelon or molasses sugar and this makes the smoke aromatic than cigarette smoke.

Shisha smoking is the new thing in town and it’s a must have for every entertainment joint. Most of the mid and high class pubs have shisha lounges. It’s surprising that even ladies nowadays are smoking shisha.

Shisha smoking is spreading to the major towns in Kenya like Nakuru, Mombasa and Kisumu. It is smoked by both the young and the old generation and they smoke in both public and private places.

Apparently shisha is sold even in the five star hotels in Kenya, major pubs in Hurlingham, Westlands and also in the shopping malls.

Experts say that a single shisha session is the same as smoking 200 cigarettes. Shisha smokers inhale more tobacco than cigarette smokers because of the large volume of smoke they inhale in one smoke session and it lasts for as long as 60 seconds.



The side effects of shisha include:

High level of toxic compounds

Shisha has tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals and carcinogens. Shisha smokers are exposed to high carbon monoxide than cigarette smokers.

Causes cancer.

Shisha contains carcinogens which causes lungs and oral cancer.

Leads to Dependency

Shisha has nicotine and there is a possibility of leading to tobacco dependency

Leads to low weight birth

Pregnant women are advice to avoid shisha since it can result in birth of underweight children

Risks of spreading infectious diseases

If the smoking pipes are not washed properly they can easily spread infectious diseases.